Happy Thanksgiving

This year, I wondered if I could get Mia to tell me in her own way what she was thankful for.  Now that she's old enough to communicate her needs/wants/complaints, it seemed like she should be able to.  So when Mia's Grandma asked me to send our "thanks" to them for their Thanksgiving get-together this past Sunday, I went ahead and asked Mia a few questions, in a way that she understood, to get her "thanks" :-)  Her answers were so sweet and silly, I wound up making cards to put them in and give to close family.  

Mia’s Thanks

(When asked who she loved, Mia went through a list)

“Abby, Mamma, Daddy, Tina, Donna, Elizabeth, Abi, Grandma,

Papa, Ziggy, Leah, Becca, Mimi.  I love everyone and my family!”

(When asked what made her happy)

“Happy smile.”

“Friends are happy!”

“Drawing’s happy and my crayons.”

“Ziggy’s happy and he’s my puppy.  And he’s black and I love him.”

“Running with Gabriel is happy.  He’s my friend-cousin, Gabriel.”

“Write down Mimi…and Aaron…and Ezra…and John-John…and

Leah…and Papa…and Joseph.”

“Now, these are my friends!”

(When asked what she liked doing and was glad she gets to do)

“Swinging and the slide and the park!”

“School’s fun!  But you don’t leave me; you stay there.”

“Hey, Mamma, remember we went to the fair and we went up

in the sky!?”

 We had fun making the cards.  She loved tracing her hand and foot and she thought painting her hand was so funny.  I also let her do a little gluing and the glittering.  Oh, what fun :-)

Well put...

Mighty Mia

The other day, Mia went with me and Christopher to look at new houses for us to move into.  When we got home, we were still talking about moving and which houses we liked when Mia interrupted with a very important question.  In her best quizzical mannerism – eyes squinted, head cocked to the side and one side of the lip slightly raised – she asked,  “Is this our house?”  We weren’t sure how to answer that, so I said, “Well, it’s our house right now, but we’re going to move to a new house very soon.”  She thought about it and then said, quite dramatically, “We’re going to move?!”  After reaffirming that yes, we were moving, she kept on thinking.  So we picked up where we left off and continued talking when I noticed her struggling out of the corner of my eye.  I finally looked over to see what the heck she was doing.  She had her hands leaned against the wall as she pushed on it with all her might and was at an angle I can only describe as 90-degrees.  Before I could even ask, she looked up, all out of breath and said, “I can’t do it!  I can’t move the house!”  Wow.  How quickly we forget that kids take things so literally when they’re so young.  She actually thought we were going to move the house and didn’t understand that we were moving into a different house.  And what's more, she actually thought she possessed the superhuman strength to get the job done!  Adorable :-)  We tried to better explain it and she now has more of an understanding…I think.  How funny kids are.

             She has two swords and she's not afraid to use them!

Rivers Cuomo Sighting!

Liz let me borrow these so that I may put my best DJ Lance Rock foot forward on the 26th.  I hope she doesn't expect them back, as I intend on keeping them!  Muahahahahaaa....

Dear Daughter #1: Don't Drink the Water

Dear Daughter,

Why, oh why would you poop whilst in the bath?  You've been doing so well with no accidents.  And then...this.  Imagine my horror.  Future embarrassment aside, this was one for the books - or in your case, the blog.  Let's get back on track and conduct our business in the proper location from now on, shall we?

Love,
Your Disconcerted Mommy

A great deal from Shutterfly...

While visiting other family blogs, I recently came across this amazing deal where Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly (that’s right, FREE!) when they do a nice little write up on their blogs, such as I’m doing :-)  I’m sure many bloggers across this World Wide Web will be taking advantage of this awesome opportunity.  And I’m glad I came across it because as it just so happens, I was already looking for our holiday card on Shutterfly, so this worked out like a dream!

Shutterfly’s holiday cards for 2010 are fantastic!  They have many different styles to choose from so they’re sure to have something befitting even the pickiest of people.  You know who you are :-)  We usually gravitate more towards the classic style Christmas cards, but this year I’m thinking we might go a little more modern because the new styles were just too cute.  We’ll have to think on it.  But so far, I like these:  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/dazzle-and-shine-christmas-5x7-folded-card  AND  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/peppermint-pink-christmas-card-5x7-flat.  Pretty and modern, but they still have that touch of Christmas.  And they both allow for multiple pictures, which is always a plus.

They also have really neat New Years cards.  I think these two are my favorites:  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/through-the-seasons-new-years-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=60791  AND  http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/year-in-pictures-new-years-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=60791.  They kind of sum up the year in a short and sweet way.  And, again, multiple pictures :-)

So whether you're my friend, family or just a visitor who happened upon my blog (as I often am on others') and you would like to collect on this great offer from Shutterfly, you can apply here:  http://bit.ly/sfly2010 

Just do it!  You know you want to :-)

Drawing

Mia drew most of these over this past summer, which is when I first started noticing how well she draws.  Being new to the mom thing, I didn't know what was normal for her age.  I expected stick figures and round heads as a start to drawing.  And she does do that sometimes, but some are a little more detailed.  She’s pretty good for a little monkey :-)  She’s even tried copying a couple of pictures and one of her stuffed animals, which just amazed me.  She did a great job.  I try to keep an eye on her when I notice her drawing because most of them have been on her Doodlepad and I learned early on that I have to either have my phone ready to snap a picture or actually take it away and snap one before she can erase it.  One of the first really good things she drew was what looked like a T-Rex silhouette, but before I could get a picture she erased it and was on to the next thing, so I try not to make that mistake again (but sometimes she’s quick!).  When I asked her what it was she said “it’s a dinosaur”, so I don’t know if she drew it on purpose or just recognized it after she drew it?  I don’t know if some of them are by accident or not…so being a proud Mamma, we’ll go with not :-)  So I’ve been trying to collect what pictures I can get and have been meaning to post them.

I almost didn't catch this one walking out of her room one day.  She drew "Map" from Dora.

                                                     "Sid" from Ice age

 "Plankton with bubbles" (from Spongebob)  I know he doesn't have two eyes, a nose or fangs, but it's still good :-)

 "Dolphin with water" (I think she meant "Shark"  She gets dolphins and sharks mixed up...it's a fin thing)

This is her best one yet and the only one I've got on actual paper.  She just said, "it's a silly face"

Maybe she'll take after my mom and brother and turn out to be a really good little artist.

Much ado about a pig

Mia went with me to get our truck serviced at Sears…so naturally, we walked the mall while we waited.  The new Target is right in the mall now, so we were scoping the toys when Mia spotted the Olivia dollhouse she so wants.  Right above it were little Olivias in different costumes that she wears on her daydream adventures.  Being obsessed with “going to the ballet” recently, Mia wanted the Olivia in her trademark red ballet tutu.  Sure, okay.  It’s five bucks so I don’t mind.  So we were off to walk the rest of the mall.  We go in a few stores - Kids’ Journeys (to ooh at the new Gabba Vans!), Old Navy, The Children’s Place, Gymboree.  When we get to Gymboree, Mia wanted to sit with a little girl a few years older than she is and watch the cartoons they had playing on the TV.  So she asked me if she could take her new Olivia to show her new friend.  I said okay and took it out of the bag to hand it over.  Mia proudly showed off her Olivia, telling the girl who she was and that she’s going to the ballet.  She’s just talking this girl’s ear off.  The little girl was a doll.  She just sat and listened and was very sweet to Mia.  When it was time for us to go, Mia threw a little stink, which I knew she would.  She cried a little on the way out and was throwing a little ‘tude around, but she still had Olivia.  When we finished at JC Penney and started to leave the store, I noticed her hands were empty.  “Mia, where’s Olivia?”  You know that “deer in the headlights” look?  Yeah, that was it.  Even though it was a $5 pig, it still gave me that sick to your stomach feeling you get when you lose something.  She then kept asking me “Mamma, where’s Olivia?”  I told her she must have dropped her and I’m almost certain someone picked her up and kept her as their own.  Who’s going to turn in a little pig to the lost and found? (I would, but maybe that’s just me)  But I still retraced our steps, checking the stores we went in and lost and found and sure enough, nobody turned her in.  Now she’s a wreck and throwing a full-on crying fit yelling out “OLIVIAAAAA!” through the mall.  Oh, that’s lovely.  I’m frantically scanning all areas of the ground as we walked, searching for that little pig.  “OLIVIAAAA!”  People are starting to stare.  “OLIVIAAA!”  Would somebody please get this girl a damn Olivia?!  Embarrassing?  Just a little.  But I’m totally used to it by now.  She’s somehow numbed my shame reflex with her fit-throwing over the past couple of years. 

Her Daddy just happened to call me so I tried to brief him on the situation over the screaming child in the background.  She got on the phone with him and said, “Daddy, I dropped my Olivia!  The little girl found her and she took her!”  Wait, what?  Ohhh, I see.  Since I told her someone else probably found her, she automatically assumed it was her new friend she had just made and was sharing her Olivia with.  Poor kid got the blame.  Even if she did find Olivia, that’s probably the least we could have done for her after Mia just talked her ear off for 5 minutes straight.  So her Daddy talked to her, telling her he would get her a new Olivia.  I told him not to bother, I’d get it since we were still there.

So I walked into Target, yet again, to repurchase the same Olivia that I had bought not one hour earlier…and purchased it from the very same cashier, who was now trying not to laugh.  Oh, come on!  There couldn't have even been one other customer in front of or behind us to buffer the situation, right?  Just us, which made it all the more awkward.  I casually tossed the Olivia on the conveyor and tried to have a look on my face like, What?  Everything's normal.  I purchase multiple Olivias over the course of a day all the time.  Don't you?  As the lone Olivia shamefully made her way down the otherwise empty conveyor belt, the cashier said, “She lost her, huh?”  I just smiled.  “Ooof course she did.”  When Mia got her hands on her new Olivia, she said, “Olivia!  You’re back!  You found her, Mamma!”  She didn’t realize that her first Olivia was long gone.  She didn’t realize that I just walked all the way back to Target to get her a new one.  The things we do for our kids…

Halloween

Halloween was lots of fun this year.  It always seems like, as with any holiday, it’s the weeks or even months leading up to it that are the most fun.  I guess the anticipation and preparation of it all are what’s exciting.  We carved our pumpkins two days before because they just don’t last that long and we wanted them as fresh as possible.  Mia helped me empty the seeds out of the pumpkins which was a lot of fun for her.  She loved getting the gunk all over…and I had loads of fun cleaning it up :-|  I carved a monster pattern that I also did on her pumpkin last year.  It reminds me of her (since we often call her Monster) so I couldn’t resist reusing it.  Her baby pumpkin was meant for an Elmo pattern, but it was rock hard and wasn’t going to cut, so I just drew him on with red and black Sharpies.  He turned out just as cute.

Halloween Day, Christopher had to work and didn’t know if he would be able to get off early, but said he’d try.  Mia so wanted her Daddy to take her trick-or-treating.  When she’d hear a car door or something, she kept going to the front window all day saying “(Gasp!) Daddy’s home!  Now we can go trick-or-treating!”  It was kind of sad because I didn’t know for sure if he’d be able to.  Once I started to get the both of us ready was when she really started getting excited.  She kept calling me “Mommy Kitty-Cat” after I put on my nose and whiskers.  “Mommy Kitty-Cat, when are we gonna go trick-or-treating, Mommy Kitty-Cat?”  She’s such a ham bone.  I finally talked to Chris in the early evening and he said it looked like he wouldn’t be able to come home early.  Darn.  So I decided to take her to Aaron and Donna’s to trick-or-treat with her cousins and Christopher could meet up with us later if he was able to.  Not too long after getting there and after going to a few houses, he called and said he was on his way.  Yay!  I brought him clothes and his “costume” just in case he came.  So he changed and met up with us down the street.  Well, let’s just say he was a hot mess.  Part work clothes/part street clothes/part costume.  But okay, at least he tried?  Mia was still thrilled to see him and the kids had lots of fun and got lots of candy.  Us adults had fun joking with each other the whole time, as well.  When else do you go out street walking at night anymore?

With all the excitement, we didn’t take too many pictures.  But we did ok :-)

Um, excuse me, Dorothy?  I do believe that’s my bucket you have there…and my candy!  Haha

 

Mommy Kitty-Cat and Mia took a few together before venturing out

                       Liz and friend Maddie walking Princess Mia

                                                     Paparazzi shot!

Mia with Daddy in his kinda-costume.  We’ll call him Officer Daddy Rex.  Lol

You know how sometimes you get a glimpse of a kid – just by the way they look at some random moment – and you kind of see them as an older person?  This is one of those times.  Something about her face in this picture just shows me an older Mia.  Funny :-)